Parkinson

Phil Parkinson on Wednesday after announcing his decision

I am to be quiz master for half of next Monday's quiz, along with Jimmy, and I am duly doing a bit of research here and there. It is very much frowned on to lift questions from quiz books, and especially so if you do not actually understand why the answer is what it is. For should Luis, to pick someone entirely at random, point out that the flag of the People's Republic of Psychomania no longer has a candy-striped pink and purple motif, having changed it a few hours ago for something a bit more revolutionary, something by Jasper Conran perhaps, then you are on the back foot and life is quite uncomfortable for a minute or two.

I once made the mistake, not of lifting questions per se from a quiz book, but of creating a round of Geography questions, which the OFs are pretty good at, using an out-of-date gazetteer. As my geography, in common with that of my team, is not all that hot, I thought these questions were all right, but in fact there were a few changed names, altered locations for capital cities and so on. I have not attempted to set a Geography round since then, and probably never will.

However, when faced with the task of finding questions, I have to confess that I do make use of published quiz books, and online quizzes, too, not to lift the questions, but to get an idea for a theme (and well, all right, the odd quiz book question has been known to get through, but only if I am sure I can defend it, and of course that it is suitable for our audience).

One that won't be going out on Monday was this one, from a book based on the television programme, University Challenge: "Who was born Philip Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg on the kitchen table of a holiday villa called Mon Repos?"

The answer, which most of you will get if I add that it was in 1921 and that he is still very much a part of British public life today, is Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, but such has been the run of events this week around Charlton, and the online sports pages, that the first person with the name Philip who flashed into my mind was Charlton's assistant manager Phil Parkinson. But Phil gives the impression of being such a solid north-countryman that there is no way his parents would have been staying at anywhere called Mon Repos. And anyway, if you are called Phil Parkinson then you are obviously from the north of England.

Phil has been in the news this week, for it seems that he told Huddersfield Town that he would leave Charlton and take up their offer of managing them. That, at any rate, is Huddersfield's side of the story. Phil's side, which obviously I take, is that he told Huddersfield that he was happy with their set-up, and their offer, and would go home and discuss it with Mrs Parkinson, and maybe Charlton again, and then let them know.

The next day's Yorkshire Post then came out with the story that Huddersfield would 'unveil', as modern parlance has it, Phil as their new manager at 9.30 that morning. But what in fact happened was that Phil got up early and phoned Huddersfield at 8.30 to say that after due consideration, he would be staying with Charlton, despite his living, as Wyn Grant pointed out, in Yorkshire; as does Mrs Parkinson, no doubt.

To me the most interesting thing about the story, however, apart from relief that he wasn't leaving, was that until he told Huddersfield he wasn't joining them, this was the first I knew about it. Huddersfield had been reported as wanting him after they sacked their previous manager, about three weeks back, but there was no indication that Phil was interested. And where this story differs from others of its type is the total absence of build-up and speculation. None of the stories about the 'race' to become the Huddersfield (or Terriers, as they are apparently called) manager, and this kind of stuff. Are the BBC and the rest slipping?

Charlton 1 Wigan 0

I was pleased to learn he isn't going, as it is widely accepted that he is just as responsible as Pards for the revival in Charlton's fortunes, which continued, a trifle luckily, if The Guardian is to be believed, against Wigan last Saturday. Paul Jewell, the Wigan manager, was widely reported as being very cross about Darren Bent's 86th minute penalty. The strange thing is that as soon as I saw that Charlton had gone 1-0 up as a result of an 86th minute penalty, I knew he would be; it was the first thought that came into my head. I scare myself sometimes.

Manchester City away tomorrow, which, if it produces a win, will be a major step forward; I am not, as I have said before, in the prediction game; Charlton must just do their best and try to win as much as possible, and they ought to be all right.

I will leave you with links to a couple of the sillier stories on the BBC this week; the first was the riveting news that Alex Ferguson hoped for an away goal in Rome. This would have been more of a news story if he had come right out with it and said he was fed up and hoped they got thumped 4-0, but anyway.

The other was a headline that made my pulse quicken for a moment; it said that ZZ was going back to China at the end of the season. But when I read the story, it just said that when his loan period expires, he will return to his own club and then see whether negotiations can start for him to come to Charlton on a permanent basis. Well we already knew that, so where was the story? Mind you, I did click on it, so it worked in that respect.